Survey by Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee reveals 'poor experience' among many applicants for the schemes' vouchers
The government's flagship initiative to help homeowners pay for green upgrades such as insulation, heat pumps, and solar roof panels continues to face major teething problems two months on from its launch, with research suggesting many households are experiencing a "poor experience" when attempting to take advantage of the scheme.
The Green Homes Grant Scheme is a key plank of the government's 'build back greener' drive, with officials estimating the initiative could help make up to 600,000 homes more energy efficient while supporting 100,000 skilled jobs and pushing the UK closer towards its 2050 net zero target.
But MPs on Parliament's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) have today written to Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng calling for urgent improvements to be made to the Green Homes Grant Scheme, in order to iron out major problems faced by both households applying for grants and installers looking to deliver upgrades through the scheme.
The government recently extended the deadline for households to access the grants from March 2021 to March 2022, following complaints that the looming cut off point was discouraging installers to take on additional staff to deliver home improvements through the scheme, further exacerbating a gap between demand for grants and the supply of companies able to deliver green home upgrades. The extension to the £2bn scheme was backed by another £1bn of funding as part of the Prime Minister's Ten Point Plan last month.
However, concerns remain widespread across the industry that in its current form the scheme will struggle to deliver the numbers of upgrades anticipated by the government, despite the offer of grants worth up to £5,000 per household, rising to £10,000 for low income households.
The EAC's intervention follows a survey carried out by the Committee of 510 people who have sought to apply for vouchers through the scheme to help with the cost of installing energy efficiency measures.
The poll found 86 per cent of respondents had a "poor experience" with the process, with many also experiencing delays in receiving responses to their applications, leading to some quotes for the cost of upgrades expiring, according to the EAC.
At the time the survey was conducted in early November, just six to eight weeks after the scheme was launched on 30 September, the EAC said only 5.6 per cent of survey respondents said they had received a voucher from the government to help pay for the installation of energy efficiency measures.
The survey also highlights significant confusion over certain aspects of the scheme, such as what counts as 'primary' and 'secondary' green upgrade measures, with the eligibility for securing government support for the latter requiring the former to have been installed at a home.
A further 75 per cent of respondents to the poll said they had found it difficult to find a government-approved contractor to carry out planned works, with many installers reportedly unaware of the Green Homes Grant Scheme or not prepared to sign up to it, according to the EAC.
Yet at the same time, tradespeople who were TrustMark accredited to carry out installations under the scheme have been inundated with requests for quotations, highlighting an inherent capacity problem and lack of requisite skills in the UK to carry our green home upgrades that puts the government's installation goals at risk of not being met, the EAC said.
The survey results echo media reports from as far back as October suggesting many households applying for vouchers were struggling to find local contractors to carry out works, while other tradespeople on the government's approved list of installers found themselves overrun with orders.
Chair of the EAC, Conservative MP Philip Dunne, commended the drive to upgrade UK homes - a crucial task towards achieving net zero emissions - but he warned that teething problems meant "it is already clear that the scheme is not going to achieve its initial target".
"Homes emit an astonishing 20 per cent of the UK's CO2, and we cannot come close to reaching net-zero without seriously addressing energy efficiency concerns in our existing building stock," said Dunne.
While welcoming the government's decision to extend the scheme by a further year, he urged it to take note of the feedback gleaned by the EAC through its survey and engagement with industry stakeholders. "[The government] must make swift improvements to reviewing applications promptly; ensuring there are enough TrustMark accredited contractors; and to clear up the confusion between primary and secondary measures," he said.
Studies have shown the UK has among the draughtiest homes in Europe, and ramping up energy efficiency while shifting away from fossil fuel gas for home heating is widely seen as one of the biggest challenges for the net zero agenda for the next decade and beyond.
In addition to the Green Homes Grant Scheme, the government has set a goal for 600,000 heat pumps to be installed each year by 2028, and to end fossil fuel heating in new build homes by 2025 at the latest, perhaps sooner. It also wants to see the first UK town heated by hydrogen by the end of the decade, and plans to publish a Buildings and Heat Strategy next year.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was considering a request for comment at the time of going to press. However, further details on the government's plans to improve energy efficiency across the UK are expected in today's Energy White Paper and a series of further policy documents on new building standards and hydrogen infrastructure that are due to be published in the coming months.